


Fight (when you feel like flying)

by LiviKate



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-02
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-08-28 15:57:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8452585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiviKate/pseuds/LiviKate
Summary: He didn't mention the way the boy was flushed and out of breath. Didn't mention how strong his thighs looked, blond hair made dark by the water, looking darker still against his near translucent skin. He didn't mention how his lats were swollen from use, his whole back taut and flushed as he pulled himself out of the pool, didn't mention how his big feet sounded slapping against the wet floor.He didn't say any of that, even if it was true. If the boys were oblivious enough not to see an athlete right in front of them, maybe they wouldn't recognize the way Chad looked at him either. Four times Chad saw Ryan for how strong and athletic we was, and one time they all saw it, too.





	

Junior year, the majority of the basketball team was in the same gym class. Coach Bolton used it as an extra practice, getting the boys to run laps with the other kids before coming center court for drills. The rest of the students did Walk and Talk, which apparently passed for physical activity. As long as the majority of them were pacing the gym in circles, Bolton let it go to focus on the team.

So Chad never paid much attention to who was in his gym class with him, other than the team. They didn’t really get to mingle much. Sure, he knew the cheerleaders were there, and if Zeke had been in his class, he probably would’ve heard that Sharpay was always sitting on the bleachers, filing her fingernails into points. But Zeke wasn’t in his class. Troy was, and gym and practice were the few times Chad could hang out with him without having to listen to how great and perfect and beautiful Gabriella was. So Chad didn’t know that the Evans twins were in his PE section until the end of the year, when the physical fitness tests came up.

Every year the physical education department had to run all the students through simple tests to gauge physical fitness. Things like push ups, sit ups, pull up, flexed arm hangs, and running. National averages were used to guide the less athletic, but those who lived for this stuff? It was a fun week of competition.

Push ups were first, everyone in the gym lining up in two long lines on the gym floor, facing each other. One line would count for the other, and then they’d switch. Chad and Troy were shoulder to shoulder, as always, brotherly smack talk keeping smiled on both their faces. Jason was across from the, as well as another couple guys from the team.

“Place your bets, ladies,” Chad said grandly, to the clump of cheerleaders easing themselves down onto the dirty floor, giggling at the boys’ showmanship. “And if I were you, I’d bet on me.” He winked and they tittered. He wished their attention made him blush like it used to, like it still had Jason and Troy going pink in the cheeks.

“Alright now, everyone assume position, right side goes first,” Bolton called. “Ladies can go from the knees, gentlemen can’t. Sorry, fellas, it’s just biology.”

“You’re going down, Danforth,” Troy goaded as they hovered next to each other, abs engaging as they held themselves up. Jason ruffled his hair where he sat in front of him, but Chad didn’t let it break his focus. He liked winning.

The whistle blew and Chad and Troy were off, moving fast, pumping them out with flawless form. He heard Jason and Troy’s counter rattling off numbers, talking fast to keep up.

“Watch it boys, you’ll burn yourself out,” Coach cautioned good naturedly, but he was happy to see his athletes pushing themselves.

Chad was starting to sweat around fifty or so, breathing a little harder as his arms heated up. He kept pushing, breathing in puffs of air, watching Troy out of the corner of his eye when he needed a little more motivation. By the time they were north of a hundred, he guessed they were the only two still going, classmates on either side of them cheering for him or Troy, sometimes even for both.

“You’ll tire yourselves out for practice today,” Coach said laughingly as the two friends battled for the higher number. At Chad’s 128th push up, Troy flopped to the ground, smacking wetly onto the dirty wood.

“He quit at 134, Chad, only a few more to beat him!” Jason shouted, in his face, counting them off as he pumped the last few out. He made it to 135 and collapsed down next to his friend, still splayed in a sweat mess. They laughed, breathlessly, high-fiving with filthy, sweaty palms.

“Nice job, son,” Bolton said, and the two friends grinned, knowing he was referring to them both. Chad rolled onto his back, chest heaving for air and sweat trickling across his scalp. He stared at the ceiling, catching his breath.

“Hey, Evans, you done yet?” Coach called over their heads. Chad sat up on his elbows, looking across the line of students to the far end. He saw Sharpay lounging on the floor, looking bored as her twin dedicatedly dropped into perfect push up after perfect push up.

“No,” she drawled, watching him sweat with apparent disgust. “He just got to 90, he’ll be done soon.”

“Fuck you, Shar,” Ryan puffed out with a smile, leaning onto one arm to reach forward and slap her in the leg playfully.

“Don’t lose focus, Evans, you’re doing great kid,” Coach Bolton encouraged, beginning the rounds of marking down numbers, as Ryan was the only student still going.

His pale skin flushed with exertion, sweat rolled from his hairline. Chad thought he could see a single drop clinging to the tip of his nose. He swallowed hard, pretending he didn’t want to catch it on his tongue. He looked away.

“Damn,” Jason said with a whistle. “Who knew Evans had guns?”

“He doesn’t have guns,” Chad huffed, standing up and brushing himself off. He needed a drink of water. His mouth was dry, and it had nothing to do with the push ups.

Chad tried to ignore how Ryan hung with him and the other school athletes through all the tests. He finished fifth in sit ups, using a sweatshirt under his back to keep his skin from bruising, behind Chad, Troy, another basketball player and a girl from the soccer team. He beat Troy in pull ups though, and Chad had never worked harder than he did to beat Ryan’s number. He reasoned that the kid was skinny, he had less to pull around. When Ryan finally dropped from the bar, Chad felt a little lighter as he powered through five more. When he dropped down, rubbing his hands together, he was met with Ryan’s cocky grin, sweat drenched and tomato red.

“Almost had you on that one,” he said, before nearly falling over when Troy gave him an over-exuberant smack on the back.

The last test that day was the Pacer. It was a programmed cardio test, where everyone ran from one end of the standard court to the other, turning and running back when the recording beeped. The beeps gradually got closer and closer together, forcing them to run faster and faster as the test went on. In the first wave of participants, the soccer players beat out the basketball players, which Troy was annoyed by, but Chad missed almost all of it, instead watching Ryan drink greedily from the water fountain, bent over, throat working. When he finished, he straighten up, pulling the hem of his gym shirt up to wipe over his face, exposing his stomach, shiny with sweat and gently rippled with muscle. When he scrubbed at his hair, hiding his whole face in the shirt, Chad saw that the flush on his face and neck spread all the way down to his chest.

When it was his turn to run, he stepped to the start line, no longer joking around with Troy next to him, instead watching Ryan take up a place a couple people down from him. He looked unfocused, Sharpay leaning in close to hiss in his ear.

“Hey dude, I’m gonna get you in this one,” Troy said, shoving at his shoulder.

“Yeah maybe,” Chad said. “Or maybe I’ll leave you in the dust.” He got his head on straight, mentally laughing at himself for how ironic that was, and set his focus on the test. The first beep sounded and they all jogged easily to the other side of the gym. It would only get faster.

It was only about thirty laps in, Chad wasn’t even out of breath, when a shrill shriek eclipsed the beep of the recording. Chad looked over his shoulder as he ran, seeing Sharpay sitting on the floor, complaining of a poor wrestler oafishness, apparently having tripped her. But no one fell that gracefully on accident, and Chad and Troy shared a look, shaking their heads at her theatrics.

“C’mon Ryan, I need to get ice for my ankle if I ever want to be able to walk in heels again,” she said, loud enough to be heard under the thundering of tennis shoes. It was then that Chad realized that Ryan has stopped running, stooping to check over his sister’s ankle. He pulled her to her feet, sliding in under her arm, rolling his eyes as she complained about how sweaty he was. Chad watched the Evanses limp out the door. Before the gym doors swung closed behind them, Ryan looked back, catching Chad’s gaze with a look that seemed regretful.

“Dude, c’mon,” Troy said, slapping him on the shoulder when he nearly missed a beep. “Get your head on straight.”

 _‘Gee, I wish,’_ Chad thought, before he put his head down and ran.

“Think they were in it together?” Jason asked one of the other players in the locker room later.

“Evans?” the guy asked. “Yeah, probably. Bet the twink asked his sister to get him out of the test. No way he still had enough juice in him for another one. Did you see how he was shaking after the pull ups? I bet he’s never worked that hard in his life.”

Chad couldn’t help but think that you didn’t get that strong without working that hard, but he kept his mouth closed.

“Besides, he got beat by a girl in sit ups,” another one of them said. Jason cackled.

“So did all of you! Jessica is a beast!” he shouted, the locker room erupting into laughter and grumbles in equal measure. Chad laughed. After all, Jessica was an athlete, the lead forward on the girl’s soccer team. Ryan just danced. It was no wonder she beat him.

 

 

Don’t get him wrong, Chad was grateful for the job. But, man, did Lava Springs suck. After dealing with picky patron after picky patron, Chad was one lemon wedge away from dumping an entire pitcher of sweet tea on Mrs. Wolflin’s tennis dress. Taylor gave him a sympathetic look, telling him he was free of wait duty for a couple minutes. She needed Chad, Jason, and Jeff from the basketball team to change the towels in the men’s locker room for the indoor pool. Chad was pretty sure it was just a two-person job, and that Taylor was giving him a freebie out of the kindness of her heart. He was so glad there were no hard feelings from that break up; she could make his life even more hellish in this place.

When the boys rolled the cart into the indoor pool area, there was only person in the water. His lean form was cutting a smooth path through the pool, taking about half as many breaths as Chad knew he would’ve. Chad couldn’t help but admire his narrow frame, wrapped firmly in muscle and moving gracefully through the water. He also noticed his milky skin, dotted with a couple beauty marks down the length of his back.

The swimmer kept doing laps for as long as they were there, unloading all the dirty towels, filling the baskets with clean ones, folded precisely. They went into the locker room and did the same there, before pushing their cart back out through the pool. As the door opened, Chad watched the swimmer pull his long, lean body from the pool, back clenching as he pushed at the edge, one thigh coming up to rest on the concrete, pushing him up effortlessly. Chad saw he was wearing bright purple swim shorts, sinfully tight and glittering like the sky at twilight.

When he turned towards the workers, Chad was appalled but not surprised to learn that it was none other than Ryan Evans he'd been checking out. 

"Hey, toss me one of those?" He asked, and Chad did, lobbing one of the clean towels in his hand to the dripping boy heading towards him. Chad watched as water droplets rolled down his chest. He followed their progress until they spread across the band of his shorts. God, they were so small, so tight. Chad was definitely staring. It didn't get better when Ryan said "Okay well bye then," sounding amused as he tossed the towel over his shoulder, walking passed them towards the locker room. Chad watched his ass move and couldn't decide which view he'd liked better. 

"Chad, you good?" Jeff asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I just," Chad stuttered, dragging his gaze away from the now closed locker room door. "I didn't know he swam."

"Ugh, he hangs out here all day, all summer. It's no wonder he finds time to splash around in the pool." 

Chad didn't mention that skill like that wasn't splashing, that was a good work out for the whole body, and there was no telling how long Ryan had been at it. He didn't mention the way the boy was flushed and prunie and out of breath. Didn't mention how strong his thighs looked, blond hair made dark by the water, looking darker still against his near translucent skin. He didn't mention how his lats were swollen from use, his whole back taut and flushed as he pulled himself out of the pool, didn't mention how his big feet sounded slapping against the wet floor.

He didn't say any of that, even if it was true. If the boys were oblivious enough not to see an athlete right in front of them, maybe they wouldn't recognize the way Chad looked at him either.

 

 

And then the baseball game. Where Ryan dared to be an athlete in the traditional sense, striking out player after player, hitting homers and dancing around the bases like he did it every day. He struck Chad out three innings in a row, and Chad had never been more turned on. Watching him pull his body in tight, exploding in all the right ways to deliver pitch after brutal pitch, taunting him the whole time with smug smiles and teasing winks. 

By the end, they were sweaty, panting, covered in dirt and each other's scent from colliding together on the field. When Chad offered to dance, Ryan offered to show him a practice room, saying he'd be spending a lot of time there in the next couple weeks. It was a flimsy excuse, one Chad hoped he was reading right. He followed along without a word, pretending Ryan's hand on his wrist didn't light up his entire nervous system. Taylor and Kelsi gave them knowing looks, but they barely slowed, jogging from the field to the buildings, Ryan leading him through side doors he didn't know about and depositing them into the Evans' personal dressing room. 

"I lied about the practice studio," Ryan said unnecessarily. 

"You can show me later." And then they were kissing. 

"I knew it," Ryan murmured against his lips, and now Chad knew what smug tasted like. He licked it out of his mouth, replacing it with a moan as he covered Ryan's skin with his hands. All of it, everywhere, he needed to touch him everywhere. He flashed back to last year, fitness tests, wanting to lick the sweat off his skin. This time he indulged, licking and sucking at his flushed neck, tasting salt and dirt and the sharp tang of competition. Ryan gripped his hips, holding on with hands that were big and strong and made Chad feel a little weak. 

"Let me suck you off," he said, pressing the words into the underside of his partners jaw. 

"Yes," Ryan hissed, unashamedly pushing the taller boy to his knees. Chad fell eagerly, lipping across his stomach as Ryan tugged his shirt over his head. Chad ripped open his fly and buried his face where he was hottest, feeling the shape of his hard cock against his cheek. 

"I want you to fuck my face," he said, wanting to feel Ryan's hips move under his hands, feel his ass flex as he thrust, feel his abs quiver against his forehead. 

"Have you done this before?" Ryan asked, as out of breath as Chad had ever heard him. 

"No," he admitted. 

"You might not like it," Ryan said, but he set his feet and curled his hands in Chad's curls. Chad pulled his waistband down, freeing his bobbing cock, flushed red with blood.

"Oh, I'm going to like it." 

 

 

Senior year started, and the school system decided to institute a module system in PE. Instead of letting teenagers take responsibility for their own education, they started line dance classes. A week of line dancing, a week of floor hockey, a week of badminton. And now, almost a month into the new school year, and over two months of Chad and Ryan’s not-secret but quiet relationship, it was yoga week.

It rapidly became apparent that Coach Bolton was wildly unqualified to lead a yoga class. If Ryan had gotten his way, he probably would’ve hung in the back of the group with Chad, showing off for his boyfriend and engaging in some serious eye-sex. But his sister was Sharpay, who loudly exclaimed that Coach Bolton was going to injure himself and that her brother was, in fact, a certified yoga instructor. And so it came to be that Ryan was in the front of their gym class, leading a yoga flow.

He started with the basics, gentle stretches that even the least limber students could manage. This did not help the tittering and grumbles about yoga not being a real sport, especially from the other guys on the basketball team, who liked to give Ryan a hard time about it after he started working out on the lawn at Lava Springs. Which he did because he knew it drove Chad crazy to have to wait on spoiled brats at the pool, watching him bend into impossible shapes with unlikely strength.

He led them through a gentle flow, telling those that felt a stretch in those postures to remain with them, moving with their breath. He told those that wanted more of a challenge that there were alternative levels of difficulty to pursue.

Before Chad knew it, Ryan was teaching forearm stands to the girl’s volleyball team, and he was still struggling with dolphin pose. Seriously. Dolphin pose. How undignified. But when he looked to the front, he saw Ryan balanced on his forearms, stomach and rosy nipples exposed as his shirt bunched at his shoulders, his legs in the air above him, curling into what he called scorpion pose.

Randy, one of his teammates was flat on his mat next to him, having fallen out of crow pose for the fifth time. He was sweaty and angry, the way accomplished athletes get when they’re unable to immediately master a physical challenge.

“This isn’t even a real sport,” he said, though he was out of breath. “I don’t know why they have Miss Priss up there anyway.”

“Because he’s better at it than you,” Chad said shortly, breathing slowly as he flattened his hands to the mat.

“He’s probably stretchy because of all the dick he takes,” Randy grumbled, setting up for crow again. “Bet that keeps him loose.”

Chad backed out of his pose enough to shove his teammate to the ground.

“Don’t say shit like that, it’s rude,” he said, leaning over the crumpled boy. “He’s better than you because he’s stronger than you and works hard for it. Show a little respect.”

When he turned back to his own mat, ignoring Randy’s grumbling, he saw Ryan balancing on his hands, one leg over his shoulder, the other sticking straight out from his body, arms quivering as they held him up, sweat darkening his shirt.

“Hadn’t realized you were so sensitive about your little boyfriend, Danforth,” Randy remarked, perhaps hoping to get the last word in.

Chad just gave him a shit-eating grin and said, “He’s really not that little.”

 

 

After Chad’s moment of candor in gym class, there wasn’t much use in trying to keep the relationships quiet. So they didn’t bother. There were still people who had a problem with them, still guys on the team who had a problem with Ryan, but all their friends knew and accepted them. Sometimes Jason would have trouble controlling some homophobic slurs when he got excited or angry about something, but they were never directed at them. Chad still remembered the things Jason would accidently say when Zeke and Chad became his first black friends. They all agreed that they would never try to hang out at Jason’s house.

But with friends like theirs, Ryan saw no reason not to kiss his boyfriend hello every day at the lunch table, and Chad was more that pleased. As usual, the Evanses enjoyed making and entrance, and Chad wondered what they did to stall every day in order to always be the last people to their table. Either way, they swept in with their usual glamour and grace, Sharpay elbowing Troy out of her seat next to Zeke, and Ryan wrapped his arms around Chad’s chest, sliding one hand up his throat to tilt his head for an upside-down kiss. He kissed him twice, before just smiling against his lips, hiding in their own world for just a second longer. The hand on Chad’s throat squeezed slightly, and he gasped into his boyfriend’s mouth. Ryan grinned harder, kissing him one more time before releasing him and taking his seat.

“That was a little extra,” Taylor commented with a raised brow. “Something going on that we should know about?”

“Nah, just happy to see him,” Ryan said, blushing a little as he popped the lid off his bento box. Chad just grinned, ducking in to press a kiss to his cheek before draping his arm over his chair.

“You’re not going to tell them, Ryan?” Sharpay asked, and her tone told everyone at the able that there was about to be a performance.

“No, I don’t think so,” Ryan said cryptically, popping a sushi roll into his mouth.

“It’s a big deal, you’re excited about it,” she said, plucking a California roll out of his box and replacing it with one of her sweet potato ones.

“They wouldn’t be interested.”

“Whoa, I would be interested,” Chad said, a little hurt.

“I know you’d try to be,” Ryan said with a laugh, bopping him on the nose with his chopsticks.

“You keep telling me these people are our friends now,” Sharpay said, tossing her hair over her shoulder and smacking Troy in the face with it. “Friends support each other.”

“It’s a little different, Shar. Besides, Kelsi is coming.”

“It’s not. You go to basketball games, you go to Science Bowl competitions, how is it different?”

“They came to the musicals, we’re square.”

“Hmm,” she said considering. “Fine.”

Chad felt Ryan let out a breath of relief.

“But if you won’t tell them, I will,” she said, and Ryan groaned.

“What is going on?” Gabriella finally asked, with a soft, indulgent smile on her face, like she somehow enjoyed Sharpay’s theatrics.

“Ryan and his partners routine have been selected to represent our studios New Mexico branch at the dance convention this year,” she said grandly, and Chad could tell she was just brimming with pride.

“Wait, are you not his partner?” Zeke asked her, playing with a single curl of her hair.

“No,” Sharpay said shortly, looking a little embarrassed. “I stopped dance classes to take acting classes a couples years ago, and now Ryan is doing things way beyond my skill level.” Ryan smiled down into his lunch, his cheeks pink from his sister’s praise, something he didn’t ever get a lot of.

“That’s awesome, Ry,” Chad said, pulling him in to kiss his cheek again, squeezing with his arm around him.

“Yes, and you all should come to the performance,” Sharpay continued. “Obviously you won’t be travelling to the convention in Austin, but all our studios representatives are doing their routines for a home show before they leave. You should all come see how amazing it is.”

“We’ll be there,” Troy said. “All of us.”

Ryan smiled like he’d won an Oscar, and Chad couldn’t help grabbing his face and kissing him again.

 

On the day of the performance, though, Troy probably regretted making that promise. The studio was crowded with friends and family, and Zeke and Troy kept complaining.

“We could be out shooting hoops right now,” Zeke said for the twelfth time.

“I hadn’t realized how long this was going to take,” Troy said under his breath. “I thought we’d show up, Ryan would do his thing, and we could go. I hadn’t realized there would be this whole… production.”

“It’s an Evans, what did you expect?” Taylor said and they all shrugged. There was standing room only in the large studio, three walls lined with people, kids sitting on the floor in front. Chad elbowed his way through the crowd, towing his friends behind him, announcing loudly that he boyfriend was in the show and he’d fight anyone who stood in front of him. They got prime spots on the front wall. And no one stood in front of them.

The lights dimmed dramatically as an older women walked to the center of the performance space.

“Hello ladies and gentlemen, and thank you all for joining us on this very special night. Tonight we will that the upmost pleasure and privilege to see a soon-to-be award winning performance, choreographed and danced by Ryan Evans, and his partner Kent Boyd.”

“Wait, it’s another dude?” Jason whispered loudly. “Don’t get jealous, Danforth.” The children in front of them whipped around and shushed him loudly.

“And now, without further ado,” the owner said grandly, walking back to her place as Ryan and his partner walked to the center. They were both dressed casually, barefoot and in soft looking pants and t-shirts. The lights stayed dim as the music filled the room.

Chad recognized the song, the X Ambassadors newer hit, and he had a couple moments to consider the choice, Ryan and his partner circling each other slowly, coming together at the end of the first verse like it pained them. When the beat filled the room, they exploded apart, pulsing with the beat, swelling together and away. The whole piece seemed to be about how two bodies can push each other away as easily as they could hold onto each other.

They wrapped around each other, lifts and jumps flinging them into the air, holding each other up, holding forms as they moved. Chad’s palms were sweating from watching them. The whole room was holding its breath as the two men went from slowly sliding around each other to launching themselves away, catching each other by hand or foot. The bodily control was amazing. Every time his partner touched him, Ryan rippled, moving like the touch was a physical thing that moved through his body, Ryan simply moving around it to accommodate. Sometimes they moved like they were the same person. For a moment, Ryan picked up his partner, holding him high above his head before settling him down in his lap, folding around him like he was something tender to take care of.

When the song died down, the two men wrapping each other in a hug that had the other man’s lip catching and dragging on Ryan’s neck, before shoving each other apart in the last lyric, Chad could feel awe hanging heavy in the room. The few heartbeats after the song ended were utterly silent before the room erupted into applause.

“Wow,” Troy said, his arms holding Gabi tight to his chest. “That was amazing.”

“Dude, can you imagine holding me above your head? Or letting me run full tilt at you and then you catch me? That’s insane, how do they do that stuff?” Jason asked.

“Did you see when that guy had Ryan’s leg in the air, and Ryan basically did a handstand to flip around to the other side?” Gabriella said, jumping in Troy’s grip.

“He’s incredible,” Chad said quietly, watching as Ryan took a drink of water, toweling sweat off his face and high fiving his partner.

“You a little jealous, Chad?” Zeke joked, elbowing him in the ribs.

“You know, I feel like I should be, I mean that guy just rubbed himself all over my boyfriend, but also, like holy shit. Did you see that? It was amazing. It was athletic, and sweaty, and technical and beautiful. Like, wow.”

“Astutely put,” Kelsi said, tipping the brim of her hat at him.

“Shut up, my brain isn’t working right, right now.” Because Ryan was pulling out of his shirt, his pale skin flushed red with exertion, shining with sweat, and red in the places that his body and his dance partners had met with force just barely contained by their skill. He shrugged a sweatshirt over his head before making his way to his parents and Sharpay, standing against one of the side walls. They all congratulated him, his dad giving him a bouquet of flowers and producing a trilby hat from behind his back, to drop on Ryan’s head after giving his forehead a kiss. His mother held his face in her hands and squealed at him until Sharpay pulled him out of her grasp and into a hug.

When Sharpay pointed to where their group was standing, Ryan’s already happy face split into an even bigger grin and he left his flowers with his sister and made his way over to them. Chad met him halfway, kicking over a child in his haste to get to him, picking him up and holding him against his chest. kissing him until they were both breathless.

“That was amazing, Ryan,” he said against his lips, holding him just an inch off the ground. “You’re so amazing. I though you were amazing before and I still had no idea.” Ryan just laughed into his smiling mouth, wiggling out of his grip and taking his hand.

“Thanks for coming,” he said, almost shyly. “Did they like it?”

“Like it? Gabi and Taylor are the smartest people I know and even they don’t have the words for how extraordinary that was.” Ryan just giggled happily again, seemingly overflowing with energy and adrenalin and joy. Chad towed him by the hand to their group, who all swamped him with hugs and congratulations and effusive praise.

“Dude, you’ve been telling me for a while that dancing is a sport, and I didn’t believe you,” Troy said, clapping Ryan on the shoulder. “But that, that might’ve been better than basketball.”

“Thank you,” Ryan said seriously, recognizing that as the highest praise Troy Bolton could offer. “Thank you all for coming, I’m really glad you liked it.”

“Now that I’ve seen it, I’m almost mad that you didn’t want to invite us in the first place,” Gabi exclaimed, leaning forward to wrap Ryan in another hug.

“I didn’t know if you guys would think it was cool, or recognize how hard I worked,” Ryan said, bashfully rubbing the back of his neck.

“We’d literally have to be dead not to see that,” Zeke said, handing over a tin of cookies.

“It’s about time,” Chad commented, for no ears other than Ryan’s.

**Author's Note:**

> The amazing video Ryan’s dance is based off of. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsVXnCGij5o


End file.
